I Was Tricked Into A Fraudulent Marriage By The Obsessive Villain - Chapter 4.7 - Grand Duke Thanatos

At that moment, the fear she felt towards the man didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she couldn’t be separated from him.

 

 

 

Iona embraced Carvain tightly with her trembling hands.

 

 

 

“…….”

 

 

 

Silently observing Iona’s actions, Carvain eventually enveloped her in his arms, gently sweeping his large hand over her back as if to reassure her.

 

 

 

“Shh… It’s okay.”

 

 

 

“…Hngh.”

 

 

 

“It’s okay.”

 

 

 

So, for a while, Iona breathed in the man’s arms.

 

 

 

The man brushed her back until Iona calmed down.

 

 

 

They remained embraced for a while, with Carvain soothing Iona until her breathing calmed down.

 

 

 

As her breath gradually steadied, he removed his hand from her head, his red eyes fixed on her.

 

 

 

“Did you have a bad dream?”

 

 

 

“…….”

 

 

 

Why was it that only when she faced those fearsome crimson eyes, did her trembling start to subside?

 

 

 

The wave of emotions that had dominated her entire body gradually began to calm down. Her fingertips were still trembling, but…

 

 

 

Why am I like this?

 

 

 

Iona’s eyelids trembled uncontrollably at her own actions, which she couldn’t understand or explain.

 

 

 

She was perplexed by the overwhelming emotions that seemed alien and dominating.

 

 

 

As Iona’s eyes shook in a panic, Carvain gently cupped her cheek as if to reassure her.

 

 

 

Inhaling deeply for a moment, she finally spoke, “An assassin came. That’s why…”

 

 

 

“Yes.”

 

 

 

“I was worried that an assassin might have come for you as well…”

 

 

 

“You were worried about me.”

 

 

 

“…….”

 

 

 

“And you saved me again.”

 

 

 

Carvain spoke his strong arm around her waist. The firm grip around her waist provided an inexplicable sense of comfort rather than fear.

 

 

 

“Again…?”

 

 

 

“Didn’t you save me when I was crying alone in our younger days?”

 

 

 

Carvain lightly kissed Iona’s slightly moistened eyelid. His words touched her tender skin before retreating.

 

 

 

“You always save me, my wife.”

 

 

 

He smiled, lifting his lips. Then he reached out and pulled a bell cord.

 

 

 

With the mention of an assassin, the mansion was thrown into chaos. Everyone who had been asleep awoke, and the knights uncovered the assassins hidden in the darkness, including those disguised as servants.

 

 

 

They were all sent to the underground dungeon.

 

 

 

“We are conducting a thorough check of all personnel in case of any unforeseen circumstances,” Meyer said, nodding his head.

 

 

 

It had been some time since His Highness had arrived at the mansion, and yet such chaos ensued.

 

 

 

An assassin in the Thanatos Mansion, boasting security akin to an impregnable fortress—what a bizarre occurrence.

 

 

 

Meyer furrowed his wrinkled brow. He couldn’t bring himself to face his master or his mistress.

 

 

 

“Meyer.”

 

 

 

The voice of the master, awaiting his response, rang out.

 

 

 

“You know what you need to do.”

 

 

 

The sharp, piercing voice of the master echoed in Meyer’s ears.

 

 

 

The master held the startled Grand Duchess in his arms, who seemed taken aback, her cheeks flushed a deep red.

 

 

 

Observing the Grand Duchess for a moment, Meyer bowed his head even deeper before responding, “As you wish.”

 

 

 

Though he appeared to be just an elderly butler safeguarding the mansion, Meyer had been a knight who had protected this estate since its previous owner’s time.

 

 

 

When the first Empress died and young Carvain was left to fend for himself, he gave up his knighthood and became a butler.

 

 

 

Solely dedicated to serving Carvain.

 

 

 

Tonight, at the master’s command, Meyer’s task was to interrogate the assassins imprisoned in the underground dungeon.

 

 

 

Understanding the implications behind Carvain’s words instantly, Meyer bid farewell to his masters and made his way to the underground dungeon.

 

 

 

As Meyer left the room, only Carvain and Iona remained.

 

 

 

“Now, please, let me go.”

 

 

 

Iona said, lifting her reddened face.

 

 

 

Her face was so red it looked like it would burst at the slightest touch.

 

 

 

She had never been so embarrassed in her life.

 

 

 

First the maid, then the knights, then all the servants, then Meyer.

 

 

 

Many people came and went from this office, but the man would not let go of her.

 

 

 

He held her on his lap and clung tightly to her waist.

 

 

 

The trembling that had been raging like a storm had already subsided.

 

 

 

“You’re supposed to protect me. “

 

 

 

She pleaded with him.

 

 

 

“Please. It’s all over now.”

 

 

 

“If that’s what the wife desires.”

 

 

 

The man, who had refused to let go, somehow relented.

 

 

 

Iona couldn’t help but feel suspicious, but she decided it was time to move away from him.

 

 

 

“I’m off, then.”

 

 

 

“Where are you going?”

 

 

 

“To my room. Isn’t everything over?”

 

 

 

“It’s not over yet, wife.”

 

 

 

The man’s eyes narrowed, almost as if they were on fire. Iona felt she couldn’t just go back to her room like this.

 

 

 

After all, it was because of the assassin. They had caught all the assassins, hadn’t they? Then the case was solved! The end! But no.

 

 

 

“…….”

 

 

 

Why did she find herself in trouble again?

 

 

 

“Why are you acting this way, wife?” the man asked innocently, his eyes appearing oblivious to everything.

 

 

 

Iona, who had long found her composure, felt genuine annoyance at his expression.

 

 

 

“You don’t really intend to leave me alone with this fear, do you?”

 

 

 

“What on earth are you afraid of…?”

 

 

 

Iona asked, her brow furrowed. She couldn’t see any fear anywhere on the man’s calm face.

 

 

 

“I am afraid with every fiber of my being, wife.”

 

 

 

You’ll have to protect me again.

 

 

 

The place the man led her was a small room next to the office.

 

 

 

Iona’s room had already been broken into by an assassin, and the man’s bedroom was some distance away.

 

 

 

It was a small room, almost embarrassing to call it a noble’s bedroom.

 

 

 

It was about the size of a studio apartment from her past life. There was only one small bed.

 

 

 

She lay down on the small bed, facing the man.

 

 

 

“Whew,” Iona sighed deeply.

 

 

 

In the end, she couldn’t avoid it.

 

 

 

She couldn’t imagine sleeping under the same blanket with this man.

 

 

 

She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was still controlling the situation.

 

 

 

She wanted to punch her chest in frustration.

 

 

 

The man, oblivious to her inner turmoil, continued to smile as usual.

 

 

 

He whispered, his red eyes forming a crescent.

 

 

 

“You need to comfort me.”

 

 

 

“Comfort you?”

 

 

 

“Yes, comfort me. I almost died, and I was very surprised. So, you have to comfort me.”

 

 

 

“……..”

 

 

 

Iona, barely able to contain her frustration, reached out her hand and began to pat the man’s back with a sour expression.

 

 

 

As she gently comforted him, the man’s imposing figure leaned towards her, and before she knew it, Iona found herself enveloped in his embrace, unsure of who was comforting whom in this unexpected turn of events.

 

 

 

She barely managed to control her hand, patting the man’s back.

 

 

 

“I’m glad you’re safe,” the man’s voice rang in her ears.

 

 

 

“…You too.”

 

 

 

It was strange.

 

 

 

The eerie feeling in this mansion, the emotions that had been overwhelming her, the man whom she had run to for help.

 

 

 

But the strangest thing was herself.

 

 

 

Feeling relieved as she held him close was the strangest thing.

 

 

 

“…….”

 

 

 

She had thought she would never be able to sleep.

 

 

 

As her tension eased and her body relaxed, her eyes began to close.

 

 

 

“Sleep well.”

 

 

 

The man’s voice tickled her ears.

 

 

 

“…Don’t go.”

 

 

 

“I won’t leave.”

 

 

 

He said, patting her thin body.

 

 

 

She didn’t know if she was dreaming or if it was real. Her white hand clung to Carvain’s clothes, unwilling to let go.

 

 

 

He surrendered the hem of his own robe to those hands and wordlessly looked into Iona’s eyes.

 

 

 

He removed the mask of kindness he had worn all this time and stared at Iona with an expressionless face.

 

 

 

His cold red gaze rested on her furrowed brow.

 

 

 

The sleeping face was contorted with pain.

 

 

 

A moment later, the white, shivering face of a moment ago was overlaid.

 

 

 

A moment ago, she had been trembling in fear, but now she was running to him, trembling with fear of him being hurt.

 

 

 

“Hah.”

 

 

 

A faint laugh escaped his twisted lips.

 

 

 

“…Eugh.”

 

 

 

He wiped her creased brow with his thumb as if trying to smooth it out.

 

 

 

– Your name is Carvain!

 

 

 

The sound of her shouting as a child flashed beneath her eyelids.

 

 

 

“Hngh…….”

 

 

 

Iona, tormented by a nightmare, finally shed tears.

 

 

 

Carvain reached out and wiped her wet eyes.

 

 

 

He gazed intently at her white face.

 

 

 

Carvain knew that Iona felt a sense of unease when she looked at the mansion.

 

 

 

She wasn’t the only one plagued by strange sensations.

 

 

 

He, too, felt that ‘peculiar’ sensation every time he looked at Iona.

 

 

 

Even though he was a person whose emotions had already dried up and disappeared, he was shaken every time he looked at her.

 

 

 

Even after wiping them once, the tears that had already started flowing didn’t stop.

 

 

 

With a faint sob, the tears streamed down, and Carvain gently wiped them away with his fingertips.

 

 

 

The night grew deeper and deeper until the stars began to rise.

 

 

 

Until Iona escaped from the nightmare and felt at ease. Carvain wiped away the tear tracks engraved on her white face.

 

╔.★. .═════════════╗
Volume 1 End
╚═════════════. .★.╝